Ebony and Ivory
by Dealer Umbra
Summary: In the latest chapter of Ebony and Ivory, Yusei finds out about a horrible secret, while Jeager plays strange tricks on Divine. Don't forget to review if you read,even if you don't like it.
1. Settling the Deal!

"Central core malfunctioning. Replacement needed urgently."

Yusei muttered something, and cursed under his breath. The D-Wheel had spun out of control the day before, crashing into a pipeline. The pipeline had held, but the Wheel was damaged beyond anything less than six hours of repair and Yusei's right arm still felt a bit itchy. He hadn't told the others about what happened to his arm - not even Rally - but he couldn't keep the half-wrecked D-Wheel from them. Now, he had plugged in the laptop to the Wheel's frontal sockets, and a spinning orb flashing in blue and red every few seconds indicated damages to the software as well.

"Central core malfunctioning. Replacement needed urgently."

Anada had appeared on the screen again, repeating the same message over and over again ever since he plugged in the laptop. The thing was, Yusei couldn't get another central core unless he stole one from Neo Domino, and he wouldn't go that far. He had assembled most of that central core himself, and unless too much of it was damaged or he had bad luck at the recycling plant, Yusei was sure he could build a new one in a matter of days. He tapped a few keys on his laptop, and the screen turned black.

"Central core malfunctioning. Replace-"

Yusei nodded. He couldn't really do anything with it until he got the new central core installed, part fixing the fueling system and the drive. He looked out through a window; it was pitch-black. Only a thin crescent stood high on the sky behind the gray clouds, so thin that it was barely visible. He felt his eyelids weighing down on him, as if they were made of lead. He knew he couldn't stay up much longer, unless he wanted to spend a night in the garage. Suddenly, he heard the outside door open slowly. He froze in his step as whoever it was tapped on its toes through the hall to the living room. Yusei pressed up to the wall as he first caught a glimpse of the intruder. She - it was clearly a woman, Yusei could even see in the dim room - was about a foot shorter than himself, with yellow hair reaching down her shoulders. Her clothes, while being a bit vague in the dark, seemed too expensive for the average Satellite resident: A stylish white shirt, and a pair of black jeans. The silver necklace she was wearing made it even less likely. Yusei looked from his hideout in the shadows to the dormitories on the other side of the room, where Rally and the others were still asleep. The woman tiptoed slowly across the floor, heading towards the computer at the desk. Yusei stretched out his arm, and tapped a switch. The fluorescent lamp ticked on, showering the room with a bright light. Yusei, ready for the shock of light, covered his face with his left arm. The intruder, however, was not as lucky and fell to the floor in both surprise and blinding, Yusei suspected. The woman stared at Yusei as he walked across the floor.

"Who are you? And why did you break in?", Yusei said with a distinct tone of supremacy in his voice. The woman sat at his feet, and for the first time he got a good look at her. She was younger than he thought at first: sixteen or seventeen at the most. Her hair was golden rather than yellow, and she had deep, gray eyes that seemed to hold a thousand feelings back. Sadness, grief, annoyance. He found himself staring at her eyes with a dreamy look, and shuddered. She rose to her feet, and pulled a gray-purple striped badge from her pocket.

"Hannah Rhodes, Neo Domino Safety Bureau. Stand still." The girl spoke with the authority and maturity earned from years of experience, and Yusei lowered his arms. Hannah walked over to him, and put back the badge in her pocket.

"We traced a television signal to this address without a matching license. Are there any other residents in this house?" Yusei was about to shake his head when one of the dormitory doors open. Blitz, his glasses leaning to the left and his shirt a bit messy, stepped out.

"That would be me you're looking for, miss Rhodes. I'm Blitz Hanemaru." Hannah took a step away from Yusei, and looked at Blitz.

"Was it you that hacked into the Domino City Network?" Blitz hummed in agreement, and Hannah nodded. She walked over to him, fished up a pair of handcuffs from her pocket, and locked Blitz' hands.

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you." Blitz nodded, and Hannah led him past Yusei and through the door. As she closed it behind her. Yusei took a deep breath. He hadn't really known Blitz for that long, but he bdid/b know that his in-mate had hacked the network to let them watch TV via the computer. Blitz knew that sort of thing, and Yusei had never really learned why. And now, he never would. He drifted off back into the garage, where he had a spare bed. He couldn't go in to Nerve and Taka, not now. They were probably still asleep, and they would have to find out tomorrow. He walked down through the sideway he had came through, and came out to the garage. The tunnels to the access shafts stretched out far in front of him, and they were also barely monitored at all. As soon as he could repair the D-Wheel, he would be able to get out of Satellite and to Neo Domino, where a duelist of his caliber belonged.

"Yusei Fudo?" To Yusei's surprise, a young man stepped out through the access shaft. He wore a pair of gray trousers, and a long black coat over a gray t-shirt.

"If you're from the Safety Bureau, your colleague has already been here." The youngster shook his head and revealed his left arm. Yusei stared in surprise at it for a split second. A Duel Disk was strapped to it. Not just any Disk either, a Silver Bond Disk. Whoever this guy was, his parents had money. Yusei smiled.

"So, it's a duel you want, eh?" Yusei walked over to the broken D-Wheel, and detached the Duel Disk from it. As he strapped it around his left arm, the man in the shadows took a step forward and Yusei glanced at his opponent. He gasped. His opponent was no other than Uryu Kusuda, the punk that worked at the recycling plant. Just another Satellite resident. iHe must have stolen the Silver Bond./i Yusei grabbed his deck, and walked over to Uryu, who nodded at him.

"That's right, Yusei." He nodded at the D-Wheel in the back. "You don't deserve to have anything like that. I know you're stealing from the plant to get the parts for it. When I go tell them, you'll lose your job and your precious D-Wheel." Yusei frowned, and Uryu snapped his fingers, smiling.

"However, I have a proposal to make. If you win this duel, I won't tell anyone and leave you alone. However, if I win, the D-Wheel is mine and you will be reported for stealing from the plant. They're already looking for you, Fudo. They know that everything that comes in doesn't come out." Yusei nodded at the Silver Bond.

"Your hands aren't clean either, Uryu. What about that Duel Disk? You obviously didn't buy it, those things cost a fortune. If you lose, I'll report you to the Safety Bureau. If you win, I'll let you have your terms." Yusei looked at Uryu, and his ice-blue eyes were stern. "Deal?"

Uryu nodded. "Deal. Let's start the duel, shall we?"


	2. Rise of the Armageddon Lord!

Yusei nodded at Uryu. "Go first, Kusuda. I can defeat you anyway." Uryu grunted, and drew six cards. He smiled.

"I'll summon Insect Knight in Attack Position! Along with a face-down card, that ends my turn!" Uryu's voice echoed throughout the shafts as an armored humanoid bug, wielding a sharp sword in it's right hand and a shield on the left. (1900/1500)Just behind it, a card flashed for a second before it vanished. Yusei nodded, and drew a card.

"First off, the spell Lightning Vortex! I'll discard Speed Warrior!" A distant mumbling of thunder could be heard, gathering around Yusei. A flash of lightning erupted from his duel disk, crashing into the Insect Knight and shattering it to pixels. "Then, I'll summon Junk Synchron. And with it's effect, Speed Warrior comes back from the grave!" A small white-toned robot with orange armor over it's chest, arms and head appeared. (1300/500) Just next to it, a green circle hovered above the floor. The circle flashed, and a warrior with brown, streamlined armor jumped up through it. (900/400)

"And let me guess, a Synchro Summon?" Uryu didn't seem the least worried that Yusei was just about to summon one of the strongest monsters in his deck. Yusei nodded.

"I send Junk Synchron and Speed Warrior to the Graveyard, to summon Junk Warrior."Junk Synchron and Speed Warrior started to glow immensely, with a shining yellow light that filled the chamber and stretched out into the access shafts. Uryu raised his arm to protect his eyes from the blinding flash. Then, the light disappeared. In front of Yusei stood a new, dark gray-toned warrior, with blue armor and a pair of wings emerging from it's shoulders. (2300/1300) "Junk Warrior, attack him directly! Scrap Fist!" Uryu smiled.

"I activate my Trap Card, Draining Shield. The damage I take is instead heals me." As Junk Warrior was just about to collide with Uryu, a green barrier formed up around him. Junk Warrior stopped for a second in front of it, and then slammed it's fist into the shimmering green light. (4000 -6300) Yusei frowned.

"I'll end my turn with two face-down cards." Uryu nodded, and drew a card.

"I'll summon Pinch Hopper in Defense Position!" A silent buzz could be heard in the air as a large, green mantis appeared with a puff of gray fog. (1000/1200) The mantis raised it's arms, and kneeled down. "I'll end my turn with another face-down card." Yusei nodded at him, and drew a card.

"Alright, I'll summon another Speed Warrior!" A warrior identical to the last one, with the same streamlined armor, appeared in a flash of blue light. (900/400) Yusei nodded. "And with it's effect, Speed Warrior's attack points double! (900 - 1800) Speed Warrior, attack his Pinch Hopper!" The Speed Warrior dashed ahead at the mantis, and kicked it fiercely. It cried out in pain, and shattered into pixels. Uryu smiled.

"Thank you! Now, I can activate Pinch Hopper's effect, and summon another Insect from my hand! And that will be... my Saber Beetle!" Another puff of smoke, a much larger one, covered Uryu's field. Emerging from it, roaring wildly, was a large brown beetle with a shining horn. (2400/600) Yusei gasped silently. A monster with twenty-four hundred attack points wasn't really anything he had expected.

"I'll end my turn with that." Uryu drew a card, and smiled in a way Yusei certainly didn't like.

"I'll activate my Spell! Advanced Ritual Art! By sending a Metal Armored Bug from my deck to the Graveyard, I can summon the strongest monster in my deck!" A green circle materialized on the field, with runes and symbols around the outer lines. The image of a large insect, covered in steel armor, appeared for a split second. Then, a bolt of green lightning struck the bug, reducing it to ashes in an instant. Yusei staggered back as the warmth spread across to him. The circle now glowed in a distinct blue color, and started to spin. Soon, a shadow emerged from the ritual circle, and _it_ showed itself. A gigantic armored warrior, covered in blue flames and wielding a huge two-handed axe, towered over Yusei's Junk Warrior. A terrible grin was spread across the warrior's face. (2400/2000) Uryu's smile was almost as terrible. "Behold, my Demise, Lord of Armageddon!"

Meanwhile, on their way to the Detention Center, Blitz was worried. Hannah's partner, Ushio - clearly the more supreme of the two - had eyed him down instantly, chilled him to the bone, he did. Blitz had only caught a single look from Ushio, and the man had still frightened him. It was Ushio that drove the car now, Hannah in the front seat and Blitz in the back. The doors were locked, obviously, but Blitz didn't even think of escaping. He knew he had no chance of getting away with it. In the seat in front of him, Hannah was looking out the window, her eyes a bit dreamy. Blitz had thought at first that she was a bit too young to work by herself for the Safety Bureau, and he was right. Ushio had apparently sent her in alone to prove her worth as an agent for the bureau. She still looked as if she was thinking about something, something that haunted her mind. Blitz sighed, and looked out the window. Satellite was quiet at this late hour, most of them either asleep or in some alley, getting high on whatever they could find. He knew of that sad reality, the life of those that were lower than the lowest, those that had even been rejected from Satellite. Ushio tugged at Blitz.

"Don't think of anything, kid." Blitz nodded at his warden, and looked down to his feet. He was surely in trouble now. He had known it from the start, but he hadn't actually thought they would catch him. Suddenly, the car stopped. "What the..." Ushio unlocked the car, and stepped out. Blitz gazed through the windshield, and saw a man standing in the street, just a few feet away from the car. Hannah opened her door, but was immediately stopped by Ushio and she closed it again. The stranger and Ushio were talking, but Blitz couldn't hear what they said. Then, suddenly, another man emerged from the shadows: a man wearing a long, brown jacket and a mass of dark red hair, pulled a gun at Ushio, who froze immediately. Hannah's eyes flashed open and she jumped out of the car, her hands searching for the gun at her waist. For just a second while the door was open, Blitz heard the red-haired man speak.

"-working against the Arcadia Movement-"Then, the door slammed as Hannah got out of the car. Blitz gulped. He had only heard rumours of the Arcadia Movement, a bunch of duelists with psychical powers. He didn't know more, and he certainly didn't want to know more right now. Suddenly, the windshield crashed into a thousand pieces, broken glass flying everywhere, covering both front seats. Blitz covered his eyes, and ducked behind the seat. He saw someone look in through the broken windshield: The same man that had stopped in front of their car, a man in his thirties with light brown hair and bright red eyes. The man turned away from the car, shaking his head.

"It's empty, Divine. He's not here." Blitz heard someone curse - this Divine guy, probably the redhead - and turn to the two policemen.

"Well, since you apparently don't know when a deal is settled, Hallowed One, I don't have any other choice." The sound of two gunshots sent waves of pain through Blitz' mind, and he heard something fall to the ground outside the car. Something fleshy.

"What to do with the car, Divine? We can't just leave it here." Divine smiled, a grim smile which would scare most people.

"Please, Jerold, cars get robbed all the time. This is Satellite, remember? We could dump it outside the plant and no one would even care about it. As for them..." Divine nodded at the two bodies in front of him,"...I could think of something." opened his palm, and an orb of purple light appeared. He turned his palm downwards, and the orbs shot out. Blitz caught the smell of grilled meat and burned leather, and almost threw up in disgust. Instead, he pressed further down to the floor.

_mygodImgoingtodieiftheyseeme_

As he laid there in the backseat of the car for a while, too afraid to even move, he noticed a silence. Nothing more was said, and nothing had been done to him. Whoever this Divine guy was, he was gone. Blitz climbed out from the backseat, and went out of the car. He glanced quickly to the front of the car, and instantly regretted it. He staggered away from the broken car with the burned bodies in front, and gradually picked up speed. Suddenly, he saw another police car heading towards him at maximum speed with the sirens turned on. Blitz waved his arms violently, and as the car came closer, it slowed down. The policeman, a chubby man with short gray hair, stared at him.

"Whatcha done with your head? At first, Blitz didn't understand what the officer said. Then, he felt something warm trickle down his cheek, and he touched his scalp. An impulse of pain spread through his body, and he fell to the ground.


	3. Junk Duelist's Perfection!

Yusei was shocked. Uryu had indeed summoned one of the strongest monsters in his deck. The Lord of Armageddon might have a low attack score for an eighth-level monster, but it was the effect that mattered. At the cost of two thousand life points, Demise could destroy every other card on the field. Uryu smiled again.

"Demise, release your strength! True Armageddon!" The Lord of Armageddon smiled, then raised it's giant axe. Brilliant light radiated from him, and for a split second Yusei thought that the axe resembled a mushroom cloud. Then, Demise struck hard on the ground, and waves of red light spread across the floor. Demise's power was dark, Yusei could see that, but there was something more to it. A taint of purple in the red waves. Demise didn't hold the power of death. He held the power of sheer darkness. The Junk Warrior shattered before Yusei's eyes, and he nodded.

"I activate a Trap!" One of his face-down cards flipped up, revealing the image of a shining white dragon lying defeated on the ground. Creeping out from underneath it's corpse was a small robot with orange armor. "It's called Synchron Arrival! I can only activate it when a Level 5 or lower Synchro monster I control is destroyed. But with it, I can summon back the monsters I used for it! So, Junk Synchron and Speed Warrior comes back to the field!" The small robot with orange armor and the streamlines brown warrior appeared on the field, behind the red waves spreading out. Yusei smiled. "And with my other Trap Card, Threatening Roar, you can't attack this turn!" Yusei stretched out his left arm behind him, and a large manticore with large, bat-like wings on it's back appeared behind him. The manticore eyed Demise down, and roared at him. Demise stopped in his tracks, the axe still hammering the floor. Uryu nodded.

"No more than I would expect from you, Yusei." His Life Points had fell to forty-three thousand thanks to Demise's effect. "I'll end my turn." Yusei nodded, and drew a card.

"I'll activate a Spell Card called Reinforcement of the Army! It allows me to select a Warrior monster from my deck, and add it to my hand! And I'll choose Jutte Fighter!" Yusei's deck flashed twice, and a card was added to his hand while his deck shuffled itself. "And now, I'll summon it! Jutte Fighter, arrive!" A shiny green light appeared on the field, and a short man with a Japanese look - short, black hair and narrow eyes - jumped out from it. Strapped to the man's back was a grenade. "And with it's effect, I'll force your Demise to Defense Position!" The giant suddenly twitched, and fell to it's knees. Uryu nodded.

"I'll take it as another Junk Warrior, eh? Demise only has two thousand defense points; Junk Warrior can take that down easily." Yusei shook his head.

"I have a far greater plan for your Demise, Uryu! I'm tuning Jutte Fighter with Speed Warrior!" A bright white light appeared around the two monsters, which they were violently sucked into. It turned into a twirl, which turned and turned in front of Yusei. Suddenly, a mechanical arm with crimson fingers and a large spike pointing out from the back of it flew out through it, and attached itself to the Junk Synchron's arm. (1800/1200) "The Level Four Synchro Monster, Arms Aid! And with it's effect, I'll equip it to Junk Synchron!" The Junk Synchron looked at its new arm, moving the fingers and swinging it around. Then, it smiled in content and turned to Demise. (1300/500 - 2300/500) Uryu gasped, and Yusei continued. "Junk Synchron, attack his Lord of Armageddon! Armed Fist!" The Junk Synchron jumped high up in the air, and crashed down on Demise. The Lord screamed in terror as he shambled to pixels. The Arms Aid started to glow in bright red, and fired a beam of light at Uryu, which burned away his life points down to nineteen-hundred. "When a monster equipped with Arms Aid destroys another monster by battle, the controller of that monster takes damage equal to that monster's attack points." Uryu started to laugh. Yusei frowned. "What's so funny?"

"You-you-you destroyed my Armageddon Lord..." Uryu managed to spit out between his bursts of laughter. He stretched out his arm, and revealed one of his traps. "Activate Trap, Soul Resurrection! It lets me bring back a monster from the grave in defense position, as long as it doesn't have an effect. And I choose my Metal Armored Bug!" The spirit of a young woman emerged from Uryu's card, and hovered towards his Graveyard. It stretched it's thin arms through the ground, and pulled up the burned corpse of an insect clad in metal armor. The spirit touched the armor gently, and started to fade away. A creak was heard as the savaged corpse rose to it's feet. (2800/1500) Yusei frowned.

"I'll place one card face-down and end my turn." Uryu nodded, and drew a card.

"Saber Beetle! Attack his Junk Synchron with Shimmering Horn Ram!" The gigantic beetle with the bright white horn grunted, then charged up at the Junk Synchron at a dashing speed. The small orange robot couldn't do anything, and collapsed into pixels as the horn ran through it on the spot. Yusei's Life Points fell to thirty-nine hundred, and Uryu continued. "Metal Armored Bug, attack Yusei directly! Battering Crash!" The armored bug ran towards Yusei, a bit slower than the Saber Beetle because of it's shorter legs, and crashed into Yusei. His Life Points now lower than Uryu's, just eleven-hundred points, Yusei became worried. Uryu nodded. "I'll end it at that." Yusei drew a card.

"I activate the Spell Card, Monster Reborn! With it, I can bring back my Junk Warrior!" A vague outline of a soldier appeared on the field, and it flashed in brilliant red. The Junk Warrior stepped out from it, and nodded at Yusei. (2300/1300) Uryu smiled.

"I was worried there for a while, Yusei. Your Junk Warrior's attack points are too low for either my Armored Bug or my Saber Beetle." Yusei nodded.

"It might be so, Kusuda. But I have more than one trick up my sleeve. I equip Junk Warrior with the spell Fighting Spirit!" The Junk Warrior raised it's hand, and roared at Uryu. "Fighting Spirit gives Junk Warrior an extra three hundred attack points for each monster you control. (2900/1300) Now, it can easily best your insects! Junk Warrior, attack his Metal Armored Bug! Scrap Fist!" The Junk Warrior dashed over the field in a split second, and struck the Armored Bug hard on the shell. It screamed of pain, and collapsed on the floor. Uryu's Life Points fell to eighteen hundred, and Yusei felt a bit more comfortable. "I'll end my turn with that." Uryu drew a card.

"I'll use the effect of a card in my hand! By removing my Pinch Hopper from play, I can summon Aztekipede, the Worm Warrior!" The ground burst in front of Uryu as a large green worm crashed through it, sending a pile of dust throughout the room. (1900/400) "And with two monsters out, I can activate this! Deadly Swarm of Insects! It lets me summon up to three insects from my deck, as long as their attack points aren't higher than three-thousand combined. And I'll summon another two Pinch Hoppers in Defense Position. (1000/1200) And then, I'll change my other monsters to Defense Position. I'll end it at that." Yusei drew a card, and Uryu smiled.

"I summon Nitro Synchron!" A small red gadget appeared on the field, next to the towering Junk Warrior. (300/100) "Synchro Summon! Nitro Synchron and Junk Warrior, combine! Rays of convergence spread the world. Direct their path and free their powers! Nitro Warrior!" The two monsters, the giant and the gadget, disappeared in a bright green light. When the light faded away, a much larger shape with green skin, gigantic horns on the side of it's head and a large engine on the back appeared. (2800/1800) "And thanks to Nitro Synchron's effect, I can draw a card." He drew a card, and nodded. "Nitro Warrior, attack his Saber Beetle! !" The Nitro Warrior brought its hands together, and held both palms open at the Saber Beetle. "Shockwave Blaster!" A wave of green light shot out from it's hands, and the beetle crashed into pixels. "And that's not even everything!" Uryu gasped as one of his Pinch Hoppers suddenly changed to attack position.

"What? It's impossible!" Yusei shook his head.

"When Nitro Warrior destroys a monster by battle, it can force another monster to Attack Position. Then, they battle! Nitro Warrior, attack again! Shockwave Blast!" The green wave shot out again, and the Pinch Hopper cried out. As it shattered to pixels before Uryu's feet, his Life Points falling to zero, he went down on one knee.

"You won this fair and square, Yusei. But I'll remember this." He took off the Silver Bond, and threw it at Yusei. The eighteen-year old grabbed it with his left hand as the holograms in front of him faded away. When he looked up, Uryu was gone.


	4. Gifts from the Past!

"That's one nasty wound, doctor Truesdale."

"Of course, Beckett. The man had a shard of glass the size of hand slashing through him, what did you expect? I'm even surprised this man's still alive!" Blitz slowly opened his left eye. He was... ialive?/i He tried to look around. He was in some sort of hospital, obviously, and his head felt like a bonfire. He grunted, and turned his head. Instantly, a sharp dagger was stuck through his head, and he screamed in pain. He saw that the doctors were shouting something, their arms waving around crazily. He couldn't even hear anything, the dagger was carving into him, deafening his senses and nulling his mind. The world was spinning, flying into a storm of a million colors.

"My god..." the doctor called Beckett said, shocked. Their patient - a so far unnamed guy from Satellite who had been found by a patrolling police officer the night before - was shaking violently, his arms moving in spasms. Something was not right with this guy. "Doctor Truesdale!"

The aged doctor was on the internal phone, already calling for some morphine. Whoever this guy was, he needed surgery immediately. His head was severed, only protected by the bandage. That glass shard that he had came in with had certainly done it's job properly. Two of the nurses ran up to the patient, holding his arms down when the morphine came. Truesdale, having worked with similar cases for the last seven years or so, injected the morphine directly into the patient's arm, and for a split second their spastic visitor froze. Then, he sank down on the bed, and closed his eyes. Truesdale sighed of relief.

"Send him to the surgeons, Beckett. There's nothing we can do for him."

Divine leaned back on the torn couch, looking straight up at the old, withered roof. There was a large hole between the roofpanes, and a pile of mentioned panes were lying on the floor directly below it. The first rays of sunlight spread through the old house, which lay just outside the borders of Neo Domino. The city may be civilized, but the outside world hadn't adapted to the mindless setting yet. Out here, he could still feel the warmth of the grass under his feet and the softness of the wind running through his hair. This old ruin of a house was what Divine's father had once called home, before he had met the woman that would become his wife. Divine took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The gun, an old-style revolver, was lying on the slightly leaning three-legged table next to the couch. Since last night, two bullets were missing from the only six he still had. The Hallowed One hadn't brought him the Signer, so he did what he had to. He looked at his palm, where a few resting flames danced between his fingertips. He had used up more than half of his power reserves in the last week, and he needed the rest. As he closed his eyes again, the door opened.

"He-he-he... Divine, is it not?" Divine jumped out of the couch with inhuman speed, and pointed the revolver at his guest. The short man walked through the door, and closed it behind him. Divine's guest was wearing a red costume with golden linings and a tall, black collar. "We've heard of you over at the Bureau." Divine gasped, still holding the gun straight. He had heard of this man, but never met him in the flesh. It was Jeager, one of Rex Goodwin's closest henchmen.

"What do you want with me, Jeager?" Divine stuttered with the words, feeling very nervous all of a sudden. How had Jeager found him? Did they know what this house meant to him? Jeager giggled.

"We've obtained information that you and the Arcadia Movement are trying to unite the five Signers under your command, even though one of them is already with you. Of course, the Bureau cannot tolerate this disturbance." Divine smirked.

"What about Jack Atlas, then? Your little pawn from Satellite that pretends he's the King? You're not doing anything that I'm not doing, Jeager." Jeager giggled.

"Oh, there's a difference, Divine. We have the law on our side. You don't. And I'm giving you a choice." He snapped his fingers, and the door opened again. A man in a gray suit with short-cut black hair and the beginnings of a mustache walked in, carrying two Duel Disks with him. Divine frowned.

"A duel? You want to settle this with a duel?" Jeager nodded.

"After all, that's what it's all about, eh? The Signers, the Five Dragons, the Nazca Lines? All just another duel. Here, take this. I think you'd need one." The suit tossed one of the Duel Disks at Divine, who grabbed it in the air. As he strapped it to his arm, a thought suddenly flashed in his head. He looked beyond the suit, at the now wide open door. A car was parked outside. In it, he could see at least one more suit. _Even if I win this duel, they're going to get me. Or at least, try to._ He nodded at Jeager, and they spoke in unison:

"Duel!"

**Crash! **Rally suddenly awoke as his door flung open. Taka and Nerve, both with a frightened and surprised look in their eyes. Rally yawned and turned over. "Did you have to wake me up?" He had dreamed the same dream again. Always that witch, with the long, dark crimson hair and the pale mask, haunting him... Yet, he was pleased seeing her, even if it was only a dream. He didn't really know why. "Well?" Taka stuttered on his words.

"Blitz and Yusei... they're gone!" Rally's eyes flung wide open as he jumped out of bed. Taka and Nerve took a frightened step back. They hadn't seen Rally mad that often, but he could get really pissed when he did.

"Yusei's gone? Did he take the D-Wheel?" Nerve nodded.

"I went to check in the garage, but I couldn't find any sign of it. He must have been up all night fixing that thing. It couldn't even stand yesterday." Rally sighed, and sat down on his bed again.

"How could he leave us now, when we need him the most?" Then, his eyes flung open and he jumped off his bed, walked over to the drawer, and opened it. Rapidly dressing, he reached in behind the clothes and pulled out a small metal box. Nerve and Taka leaned closer. "Yusei gave me this a few years ago, before Jack went off to the City." Rally shivered He said that if both Jack and him had left, I should open it." Rally's hand froze just a few inches from the box. Nerve hissed.

"Well, open it then!" Rally hesitated for a few seconds, then took a deep breath and opened it. Nerve and Taka gasped in awe. "A deck!" A pile of cards were stacked neatly in the box, and Rally took them out. The cards merely flashed before him as he looked through the pile. He knew that it had to be here. iIt must be here! It's the only place where-/i He stopped. A card had caught his eye. His face lit up as he looked at it; A great dragon with golden skin and brilliant blue eyes stared at him from the white-framed card. As Rally read the name, it sent shivers down his right arm.

"Gravity Hammer Dragon..." Rally knew that there was something special with this card, and placed it back in the deck. Taka took a step forward.

"Well, what now? With Yusei running away and Blitz missing-"The computer beeped, and the three froze. Nerve was the first that gathered his mind, and walked over to the computer.

"It's from Yusei!" Rally and Taka gasped, and ran over of the shabby old PC. The e-mail wasn't that long, but each word stung in their hearts.

"_Rally, Nerve, Taka. I'm in Neo Domino City as I write this, and I don't think that I can come back for some time. The bartender here at Bootleg doesn't usually give up his computer, but I managed to convince him into a few more minutes. Last night, Blitz was taken by the Safety Bureau. I knew that I couldn't stop them even if I tried. He's probably at the detention center right now. Rally, I request a favor. Open that box I gave you all those years ago. I've left a Duel Disk down in the garage. It's yours now, Rally. I met a very trustworthy contact yesterday, and he told me of an old friend of his, Kyuji Shinemanu, that lives in Satellite, not far from us. Find him; he can get you a safe passageway into Neo Domino. Our future is here."_

_Yusei_


	5. The Dragon's Mirror!

_From the ashes, a fire shall spring_

"I'm finished now." Yusei turned away from the computer, and nodded at the brown-haired man standing at the counter. The bartender nodded, and Yusei shut the computer down. He jumped past the chest-high counter, and managed to get a quick look at the bar before his feet touched the planks of the wooden floor. He was one of the few guests at this early hour; only a few drunks that hadn't managed to drag themselves out last night were still sleeping on the floor. That, and Saiga obviously. Yusei sat down at the table, his glass of milk still standing on the table. Saiga had laughed a bit first when he heard that Yusei had ordered milk; now, with the drunkards and the pools of vomit on the floor, Yusei could see that he had made a good choice. Saiga nodded at his guest from Satellite.

"I'm glad you could make it here, Yusei. This might not be the safest place in the world, but it's sure safer than out on the streets." Yusei nodded at him. That was where they had met the night before, in the toxic rain that had struck the streets. Yusei had dashed through the pipelines and into the city, and while speeding down High Road, Saiga had stood on the sidewalk. Yusei had felt his arm flash in pain, and he stopped. A dim red glow in the shape of a tattooed dragon's tail shimmered through his blue shirt, which Saiga noticed immediately. He had said "Signer, eh?", and they had set up a meeting at the Bootleg bar the next morning. And now, they sat here. "I bet you have many questions, Yusei. I'll tell you what I know." Yusei nodded.

"First of all, how come you know about us Signers? We're not that common knowledge." In fact, Yusei didn't even think Rally had heard of them, and yet he had been living with one his whole life. Yusei almost smiled. Saiga got a stern look in his face.

"I can't explain everything right now, but four years ago I met with Rex Godwin. Ever met him, Yusei?" Yusei shook his head; he hadn't met the CEO of the Safety Bureau yet, and he didn't intend to. "Well, either way, he showed me something that I didn't believe at first. I followed him through the Bureau headquarters, until he showed me a glass tank, about three feet across. The memories of that sight still scare me today, Yusei, but I will tell you. It was... an arm." Yusei coughed in surprise.

"An arm?" Saiga nodded, notably shivering.

"Yes. It was floating inside the tank, probably covered in some fluid. But that's not the important part. On the lower arm, there was a birthmark. The head of the Crimson Dragon." By now, Yusei had skyrocketed off his chair and stood on the floor, the chair lying slumped on the ground, next to him. _What the heck is going on here? _

Jeager nodded at Divine. "You can go first, Psychic." Divine nodded, and drew his sixth card. He hadn't dueled in ages, but the deck was still top-notch and he hadn't forgotten anything.

"I start off by activating Emergency Teleport! With it, I can summon Krebons from my deck!" A red spinning circle appeared in front of Divine, from which a small elf-like being with golden and blue armor emerged. It's eyes, however, were replaced with a small screen. (1200/600) "And then, I summon Mind Protector!" A robot with same-colored armor as the elf, golden and blue, appeared in a shower of sparks.(0/2200) "Now, I'm tuning my level two Krebons to my level three Mind Protector!" The two monsters lined up, glimmering in a purple light. The same light emanated from Divine's hands and eyes, filling the room with a distinct glow. Jeager didn't react, and Divine huffed. As the monsters gradually tuned, morphing into a tall woman wearing an ornamented white robe, Divine chanted,"Embrace the path of mind-breaking power! Your deepest thoughts are no longer secret! I summon you, Magical Android! (2400/1700) And with that, I end my turn. My Magical Android's effect gives me six hundred Life Points." The Magical Android was surrounded with a blue glow, and Divine responded with a red. (4600) Jeager nodded, and drew a card.

"Activate card effect! I discard Trick Synchron to summon The Tricky!" A bleak figure jumped out from the shadows of the room, and Divine gasped. One of the suits had stood there the entire duel, but he certainly hadn't looked like that when he came in. Now, he was wearing richly stuffed white and black clothes, and he wore a jester's hat of the same color. Where his face should have been, there was only a question mark. (2000/1200) Divine gasped.

"What is this, Jeager! What have you done to them?" Jeager smiled.

"There will be a time for explanations. Now, I activate Tricky Spell - 2! By discarding Tricky Spell - 1 from my hand, my Tricky gains one thousand attack points! (3000/1200) Tricky, attack his Magical Android with Enigmagic Gust!" A shot of strong wind shot out from the question-marked man, which tore Magical Android to shreds before Divine's very eyes. (4000) Jeager nodded. "I end my turn with a face-down card. You'll need all the luck you have, Divine." (2000/1200) The Arcadian agent drew a card.

"I'll activate my Continuous Spell, Teleport! Once per turn, I can summon a Psychic monster from my hand if you're the only one that has monsters! So, at the mere cost of eight hundred Life Points, here's another Mind Protector!" (0/2200) (3200) A machine identical to the previous Mind Protector appeared on the field. "I'll end my turn with a face-down card."

"I see that you've already resigned, Divine, by giving up your very Life Points. Let me help you with that. Draw!" Jeager drew a card, and giggled. "I activate Tricky Coins! By discarding a card from my hand at random, one of three effects activate." The cards in his hand started to flash in bright colors. One of them changed to a bright white, and faded away. Jeager smiled. "Perfect. By discarding my Purple Witch, I can bring back a Level 3 or lower monster from my Graveyard! Come forth, Trick Synchron!" Jeager snapped his fingers, and the suit that had sat in the car during the entire duel opened the door and came out. Divine wasn't as surprised as before when the man didn't look like he did before.

"What kind of sick joke are you playing, Jeager? The man looked similar to the Tricky, but as Divine only just now noticed, he was much shorter, probably just four feet tall, but wearing the same kind of clothes with the same big, red question mark where his face should have been. Jeager smiled.

"Many riddles lie before you, but do not frail. I will put an end to your misery!" The Tricky and the Trick Synchron jumped high up in the air with such grace and agility that Divine was stunned at first. A wooden doorway appeared in mid-air, which the two stylish-dressed monsters jumped through. As they went through the door, they vanished. They simply weren't there. Suddenly, someone tapped Divine's shoulder and he turned his head. "Synchro Summon! The mysterious soul! Tricky Lord!" Divine gasped and took a step away. What stood behind him was nothing but a larger version of that Tricky. But where the Tricky wore cloth shirts, the Tricky Lord wore spiked plate armor, and where there was a question mark on the Tricky's face, the Lord carried no more than a hole of the same enigmatic shape. Jeager laughed. "This is the part where people usually start screaming."

Aki looked at the table before her. The puzzle pieces were spread all over it, red lines going from one piece of the otherwise completely black puzzle to all the others. This was one of the mindgames that Jerold, her mentor, had invented for her. A three-thousand piece puzzle, the only directive of the image being the red lines. It was supposed to train her abilities, her skillful senses. She knew that her power was something else than what all the others had. Divine had said that she would be powerful one day, much stronger than himself or even the founder of the Arcadia Movement, the legendary Saiou Takuma. She sighed, and put two of the pieces together. It was all because of the wretched mark. Sometimes, all this power was a blessing, and she was glad for her powers. Then, the mark stabbed her in the back. She had always had the gift of foresight, or as she suspected, the mark had given her it on birth. She had seen Neo Domino burn in blue flames, falling to ashes. And towering above the city, wreaking havoc and destruction in it's path, a gigantic spider cried out. She hadn't told Divine or anyone else about this, but she knew it was important. Suddenly, a throbbing pain flashed through her arm, and she collapsed on the floor. Her legs and arms wouldn't follow her commands as they twitched on their own accord. She tried to speak, but all that came out was saliva and stuttered syllables. Vaguely, she could see someone

_Jerold/Divine_

sit down beside her as the world lit aflame before her eyes.


End file.
